


The Game Has Changed

by DelicatePoem



Series: Swan Queen Week Winter 2018: Movies [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cora adapts her plans, Day 2, Day 5, Episode: s02e10 The Cricket Game, F/F, I have no idea, Swan Queen Week, Swan Queen Week Winter 2018, hook is bad here, season 2 y'know, started as an innocent movie night, turned into plot instead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 08:38:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13700874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DelicatePoem/pseuds/DelicatePoem
Summary: This time, Emma took a chance. This time, Regina got another invitation from her within 24 hours.But, this time, Cora changed her plans.(or, the one where they do a movie night and are sucked into the sleeping beauty movie)Set in Season 2, The Cricket Game.Swan Queen Week: Day 2 - Movie Night & Day 5 - Sucked In





	The Game Has Changed

**Author's Note:**

> I was debating whether or not to post this, because it turned out way differently from what I had in mind. I'm not really happy with it. Three thousand words of... I don't even know!!
> 
> Cora was not supposed to be here. The next part will be out soon (I hope!).
> 
> This is not beta-ed, all mistakes are mine.
> 
> WELL, I hope you enjoy it either way. Thank you for your response to the other story!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They belong to ABC, Disney and all that. This story is for entertainment only.

She had seen Regina leave without a word and without saying goodbye.

It rubbed off the wrong way.

Regina was the only one there (besides Henry) who was celebrating _her_ return. Well, that was Emma bending the truth a little, but… everyone else was here for Mary Margaret.

Frankly, what did Emma expect? That Regina would walk up to her and say _what a lovely time_ she’d had? Right. But then she realized how stupid she’d been. _She_ had invited the mayor that morning. Well, ex-mayor? _Who cares._ She’d invited her, but didn’t even check if she was having a good time or not.

So she followed her out of the diner. “Archie made a cake…” Regina turned around with surprise written all over her features, and Emma patted herself on the back for being its cause. “You don’t want to stay for a piece?”

Making up some food-related excuse was easy. _Be polite, see if everything’s okay and go back inside._ See? Easy.

Who was she kidding? Emma knew, in her bones — knew she didn’t want Regina to feel as if nothing had changed since the curse was broken. There _was_ hope for change.

Emma shuddered and couldn’t blame the chilly night. Her time at the Enchanted Forest with _fairytale characters_ must have done something to her, because since when did she think about hope?

_Since you started believing in magic, you idiot._

They were silent for a few seconds. Emma didn’t dare speak again before Regina did. With a polite smile _(She’s being polite too? What the hell?)_ Regina declined her offer, “I’m fine, thank you.” _She’s thanking me? Whaaat._

As they made eye contact, Emma wasn’t sure Regina was really _fine. It’s not like I can say that outright to her face._

_Be polite: check._

_See if everything’s okay: check?_

“Okay…” she trailed off. What else could she do?

After an awkward pause, she turned to head back inside, and that was when Regina spoke again.

“Thank you.” Regina said, apparently reaching out.

 _What?_ She whirled back around. “You just said that.”

“F-for inviting me.”

“Henry wanted it.” Emma spouted the lie before her brain could catch up. _I wanted it and I don’t even know why._ He hadn’t mentioned Regina at all today. She couldn’t regret lying when the other woman’s expression changed in a flash, and a bright smile didn’t seem like anything she could discern before from _Regina._ “I’m glad you guys got to spend some time together,” she added truthfully. _Even if he lies to me he doesn’t need you._

“Me too.” Regina agreed. The glow of the lights caught her eyes and Emma swore they were sparkling. _Enchanting_ wasn’t a word Emma ever thought she’d associate with Regina, and yet...

“I’d like to see him more,” Regina continued. “M-maybe you’d consider letting him stay over some time. I… I have his room just… Just waiting for him.” Her expression was so earnest and hopeful Emma wouldn’t be able to say no even if she wanted to.

“Henry and I are doing a movie night tomorrow,” she started, smiling a little once she made a decision.

“I don’t see how that’s—”

“Perhaps you’d like to join us?” she asked hesitantly before Regina could bicker her way through the rest of the conversation. “We could do it at your place?” _Because you probably won’t want to see Mary Margaret and David if they come back early from their date. Hell, I don’t want to see that._ “Henry will love it.”

And that was how Regina ended up being invited to Movie Night.

* * *

What a waste of his time... He could have had his hook inside Rumplestiltskin’s chest by now; instead, he was spying on the Queen of Heart’s daughter from the top of a building. What a waste of his time!

“She doesn’t seem very broken to me, love,” he commented, putting away his monocular. “Quite happy, I must say.”

“But she will be. I’ll simply have to adapt… That girl is proving to be a problem. Do you know what I do with problems, Hook?” Cora asked, staring fixedly at Regina as she passed by. “I eliminate them.”

“How do you plan on doing that? Unless you’ve forgotten, I just saw the evil queen’s version of a smile. She won’t like it if you kill her chance with the boy.”

Cora tsk-ed, a disturbing smile plastered on her face. “Wait and you’ll see. Here’s what we’re going to do…”

* * *

Regina didn’t sleep well the night before, conjuring up scenarios of how this ‘movie night’ would go. Firstly, it would not happen, because Henry would say no. Then, if he did agree to it, she’d do something to upset him and he’d ask to leave. He’d remember who she actually was and say _I don’t need you!_

In the morning, however, Henry himself called from Emma’s phone and, despite waiting for a negative outcome of the conversation that was to follow, he surprised her.

_“Hi, Mom.”_

Regina’s heart skipped a beat. “Henry,” was the only thing she could say, her voice soft.

 _“We’re still doing the Movie Night, right? At… you— um…”_ he got silent, and Regina knew what he was thinking, what he was trying to say. But this was their _home,_ even if it didn’t feel like much of anything at the moment.

“Yes,” she said, interrupting him. “I’d love to have you over.”

 _“Okay,”_ he replied, and she imagined she could see his smile. _“Emma and I will bring food and movies, so don’t worry about it.”_

“I’ll see you soon then.”

_“See ya!”_

Emma texted her after that saying they’d arrive at 7.

* * *

The day after the party, Henry entered the Dark Star Pharmacy to shop for candy and popcorn and all the things that had once been definite no-nos at Mom’s, such as milk chocolate and… any dessert that wasn't homemade.

Oh, except for Apollo bars. Even his mom loved it. One time, he’d found several stashed behind the Cinnamon Apple Cheerios in the cupboard. _She so lied when she said I don’t eat candy…_

The ‘must-haves’ of a Movie Night were here according to Emma. She was now holding the basket and Henry would be putting the things he wanted inside it.

Twenty minutes later, they’d grabbed almost every type of sweets. “We got everything?” Emma asked.

Henry moved candy around in the basket and knew something was missing. _The candy is here… And the popcorn, the chocolate…_ Glancing around, he remembered something important. “Emma, we forgot the ice cream!”

At the back of the store, he smiled mischievously as he grabbed the handle of the refrigerator and pulled it open, instantly shivering from the cold temperature. “Which flavor should we get?” he asked.

“Shouldn’t we choose that _before_ we open it?” She set the basket on the ground, closed the door and turned to him, sighing. “Here’s the thing. Regina’s gonna zap us both to Narnia when we show up with all this stuff, so grab a flavor you know she likes.”

He burst into laughter at the image. “Emma… You’re so silly sometimes.”

“I know kid, I know,” she said with a chuckle of her own.

Opening the door again, he took the ice cream and presented it to her. “This one.”

Emma pouted. “Chunky Monkey, really?”

“Yep.”

“And I won’t even be able to make fun of her. Dang it,” she mumbled the last part to herself, but Henry heard it anyway. She was so weird. “Now we’re done?”

“Yep. Let’s go, we’re almost late.”

* * *

Henry knocked on the door of the mansion while Emma tightened her grip on the bags of food they brought. She rocked back and forth on her feet as she listened to the sound of Regina’s stilettos approaching. That sound was ingrained in her memory after countless visits from the former mayor at the Sheriff's Station.

She couldn’t help rolling her eyes inwardly, though — Regina was wearing high-heels inside her home at…  7:16 pm, she checked on her watch. Then her thoughts turned to something else. Grimacing, she remembered she’d said 7 on the dot to Regina.

Despite that, when the door had been opened, Regina didn't comment on their tardiness. Her eyes met Emma's so briefly she wondered if she’d imagined it, and then her gaze fell upon Henry. It was as if the ever present tension on her shoulders was flying away with the breeze outside.

"Come in." Regina’s full lips stretched into a joyful smile that amazingly reached her eyes. It was what Emma would later call 'the Henry smile' in her head, because it differed from the usual fake, condescending or smug one. This one was precious.

She should be annoyed that Regina had barely even glanced at her, but was actually content with watching this play out. And watch she did, damn sure she was downright staring as Regina bent slightly to be at Henry’s eye level.

“Hello,” Regina said to him, her eyes holding none of her usual displeasure. Instead, Emma was being able to glimpse... not Madame Mayor, not the… _Queen_ (who she did not know), but, in fact, the... _Mom._

Irrefutably, Emma was firstly a _human being,_ which meant being wholly aware of the other woman’s attractive aura. However, when showing her perfectly white teeth in a real smile, Regina was not merely attractive, but _beautiful._

Not that it mattered, at all.

And she shouldn't be having these thoughts.

_Nuh-uh. No._

"Hi, Mom." Henry grinned, bouncing on his toes.

He moved quickly to diminish the small distance between them, hugging his mom with all his might and almost knocking her over. Regina’s mouth opened but no sound came out, and her arms automatically enveloped him in what seemed to be a very warm embrace, eyes closing in obvious contentment. How could Emma have doubted, even for a second, the love Regina clearly held for Henry?

She averted her eyes to let them have their moment, not daring to say a word.

“Sorry we’re late, Mom. It’s all Emma’s fault,” he teased a few moments later, separating himself from Regina and turning to Emma.

“Hey!” Emma exclaimed, her attention back on him as he smirked.

“It’s fine, Henry,” said Regina at the same time, brushing it off, her hands hesitant on his shoulders.

Regina led them across the foyer to the living room, and Emma set the plastic bags on the empty coffee table, taking a step back and placing her hands in the back pockets of her jeans to wait for further instructions.

She seized the moment to look around, and found it slightly disturbing when she recalled the last time she'd been here, in this house. Regina had handed her an apple turnover with a twisted plan in mind. _And look what happened instead..._ She winced slightly but pushed the thought for another time.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Regina asked, eyeing the bags with her arms crossed.

“Uhm, here’s the thing…”

* * *

They all reconvened in the living room and settled in the couch after the popcorn was ready, Chunky Monkey had been served in glass bowls, candy was strewn over the coffee table and their glasses were full of water (yes, Mom only agreed to the ‘sugar bombs’ if they drank water). Henry sat between his two moms, and while one started digging through her bowl as if it might disappear, the other moved the ice cream around with her spoon, staring thoughtfully at it. Mom’s posture was rigid and tense, her back not touching the couch.

He hoped she’d be able to have fun with this. He wouldn’t admit, but he kinda missed Mom in his everyday life. Emma was pretty good, awesome even, but Regina did raise him for the last ten years. And she was Mom.

As Emma hit the play button, he shook his head to clear his thoughts and focus on the movie. When the opening song began, he peered once more at Mom at the same time she did. She offered him a shaky smile and mouthed _Thank you_ while lifting her spoon slightly, indicating the chosen ice cream flavor. Henry grinned in response and turned his attention back to the film.

Since she came back from the Enchanted Forest Emma had been planning this Movie Night. She’d had ‘the perfect idea’: a Disney movies marathon, because she knew Henry loved watching them, but usually didn’t do it — Mom had never really liked them and preferred Pixar animations or Star Wars or superhero movies instead.

 _Except Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, that’s banned. It would be_ way _too weird,_ Emma’d said this morning. _Especially now that we’ve invited Regina._

He glanced at the stack of DVDs by the television, and didn’t think he’d last through all the movies they brought. He wasn’t sleeping very well lately thanks to the sleeping curse, but he’d try and stay awake. He could now admit he missed Mom, and having her warm presence next to him and Emma back was what mattered.

* * *

 

To be entirely honest, Emma was watching Regina watch the movie; her reactions were _hilarious._

“It’s obvious the stepmother is evil and will make Cinderella’s life miserable. I don’t know why we’re even bothering with this...” she’d commented at one point, her tone flat.

 _“Of course_ the villain gets this sorry excuse for a hair…” she’d rolled her eyes at another moment, daintily eating an Apollo bar.

And now...

 _“Seriously?_ They met five seconds ago.” Regina scoffed for the hundredth time since _Cinderella_ started playing. _“Another_ song?” she asked through her teeth, her disgust plain to distinguish on her features. “It was bad enough when the mice were singing… no, _squeaking—_ that was not singing. And _this,”_ she motioned to the screen, where Cinderella and the prince were twirling and professing their love to each other, “is just… something _Snow_ would do,” she spit the name as if it left a bad taste on her mouth. Probably did.

Emma, on the other hand, was eating popcorn, and they flew from her mouth in one swoop when Regina complained about all that and _seriously_ meant it. This time she couldn’t help bursting into laughter; Henry almost spilled his water everywhere, laughing as he was; and Regina paused the movie, turning to them with wide eyes and an faux-innocent look on her features.

“What?” Regina asked, eyes filled with mischief, alternating her gaze between her and Henry. It was amazing how much younger and softer she appeared to be when she was not scowling or complaining about paperwork or being so damn annoying and a MAJOR pain in the ass. (A major pain in Emma’s ass, to be specific.)

 _WAIT. That came out wrong. BAD idea, Emma. NO,_ she thought, choking on a popcorn kernel. _Don't think about her ass, BAD IDEA!_ She stopped laughing and just _stared_ for a few seconds, but it was enough for Regina to notice. The woman lifted that damned perfect eyebrow, and Emma averted her eyes and stuffed her face with more popcorn, sinking on the couch.

_Well, damn._

* * *

“Are we really going to continue watching these without him?” Regina asked.

“Yeah, why not?” Emma shrugged. Regina wondered why would _Emma Swan_ choose to be in her presence for longer than necessary. “He said that if he fell asleep we could,” she said, looking over her shoulder from her crouched position in front of the DVD player. “Besides, I want to finish those chocolate chip cookies we got.” She grinned, pressing play on the movie.

Regina rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe we’re watching _that,”_ she commented pointedly. “What an awful representation of Maleficent, really.”

“So this one you’ve watched?”

“Yes. If you must know, Henry was obsessed with dragons when he was six. He made me watch _Sleeping Beauty_ with him at least ten times and would always ask why the dragon had to die.”

Emma chuckled, shaking her head. “And to think I actually slayed that dragon…” she rubbed the back of her neck. Regina watched as she grabbed another cookie and proceeded to fall unceremoniously on the couch. _How is she so… relaxed in my presence?_ Emma took a bite of the cookie and finally glanced at Regina. “What?”

Pushing a wayward lock of her hair behind her ear, Regina looked back at the movie and didn’t stray her eyes from the beginnings of the tale anymore. “I’m merely wondering how _you_ of all people managed to accomplish that.”

She could practically feel Emma’s annoyance.

 _Good,_ she thought, the corner of her lips lifting.

* * *

“These fairies are ridiculous,” Emma proclaimed. “The girl just found out she’s a princess and they give her the crown as if the biggest problem is the ‘boy she met and will never see again’.”

“For once we can agree on something.” Regina said, frowning. The story hit closely with her own in some aspects, and now she remembered clearly why she didn’t enjoy this movie.

A cloud of purple smoke emerged close to the television and they both jumped, unprepared. The next thing she heard was, “I’d wonder at the safety of this house, Regina. So easy to get in,” followed by a chuckle not belonging to that same voice.

 _“Mother,”_ she managed to utter, her voice trembling with one word as they materialized as last.

She wasn’t capable of saying anything else. She didn’t move. She stared, and stared, and stared. Mother was here, despite everything. Mother was here, wearing a dress too reminiscent of other times. Mother was here, and the damned pirate as well. Her skin crawled and she almost scratched her arms, almost pinched herself to make sure this was _real_ and she wasn’t having one of her most outlandish and fretful nightmares. It was as if her limbs couldn’t cooperate, so she didn’t dare try.

Before she could react, she noticed Emma had already stood, the coffee table being the only barrier between her and Cora, and that recovered her from her stupor.

 _Oh my god,_ Henry _is upstairs._

Cora was now giving one of her placating smiles in the other woman’s direction. “I wouldn’t try anything if I were you…” Her mother’s pointed remark had its desired effect on Regina, who clutched her stomach as if she might be sick at any moment, her face turning ashen.

“You wouldn’t dare…” she threatened, muscles tense, getting up in a second despite shaky legs.

“Oh, she wouldn’t, but I have no problems with it,” the disgusting pirate implied, smirking.

Raising a hand in his direction, Cora demanded silence, but Aurora’s weeping in the background prevented that from being fulfilled entirely.

“ _What_ are you doing here?” Emma’s fists tightly clenched, legs planted wide, her stance ready for a fight if it came down to it.

Mother moved forward, touching the top of the television with her fingers. “A little imp has told me the purpose of this magic box after I so happened to hear about a… what was it called? Yes, a _movie night.”_

“Rumplestiltskin,” Emma deduced. “It’s called a _television_ _,_  by the way.”

“Indeed. How perceptive of you,” Cora said with a humorless chuckle, her voice silky smooth, and Regina knew it meant trouble.

_What are you doing, Emma? Shut up._

“And I’ve decided to use it to our advantage.”

 _“Our_ advantage, Mother?” Regina’s whole body tensed this time. _What’s she planning?_

“You chose a fantastic tale, Regina. You’ll have until the end to prevent her from awakening. I wasn’t able to bring you Snow’s heart, but this will do just nicely.”

“Prevent… what are you talking about?” she asked, having a sinking feeling about it.

“Why, _Emma_ _,_  of course.” Regina’s mouth fell open, but no sound came out. And she was _not_ easily rendered speechless. “Hook, do the honors,” Cora commanded, grinning wickedly, and he threw some sort of red, shimmering powder at them.

Coughing as the foul smell reached their noses, Emma and Regina were only able to stare at each other with wide eyes. And Emma was the last thing she saw before the red cloud invaded their senses completely, transporting them inside the movie.


End file.
